Korean Pronunciation: ㄴ + 요, ㅇ + ㄹ and ㄷ + 이

It has been a while, but I found some time to cover a few more Korean pronunciation rules. In this post we are going to cover three more rules: [ㄴ] + 요, ㅇ + ㄹ and [ㄷ] + 이. These are a set of simple rules, but still they are important enough for us to go over.

Korean Pronunciation Rule: ㄴ + 요 > [뇨]

This first rule is more important than you would think, though most likely you are following this rule already unwittingly. The rule goes as follow when a word ends in either ㅁ or ㄴ and is then followed by 이, 야, 여, 요 or 요, these syllables are pronounced as if they started with a ㄴ such as [니, [냐], [녀], [뇨] and [뉴].

While technically both syllables should be pronounced with their consonant sounds such as [잠깐만뇨] and [그러묘], most Koreans will pronounce them as [짬깐마뇨] and [그럼뇨]. So you needn’t stress yourself out to perfection, follow the example of Koreans.

A few examples:

무슨 일 : [무스 닐]

그럼요 : [그럼뇨]

잠깐만요 : [잠깐마뇨]

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Overview of the Korean pronunciation rule: ㄴ + 요 > [뇨]

Korean Pronunciation Rule: ㅇ + ㄹ > ㅇ + [ㄴ]

The second rule in this post is a bit more difficult, but an equally important one as the first pronunciation rule. This rule goes as follows: When the final consonant ㅇ or ㅁ, is followed by an initial ㄹ, the ㄹ is pronounced as [ㄴ]. This is one of the more stark contrast of spelling and writing in Korean.

A few examples:

정리 : [정니]

음력 : [음녁]

음료수 : [음뇨수]

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An overview of the Korean pronunciation rule: ㅇ + ㄹ > ㅇ + [ㄴ]

Korean Pronunciation Rule: ㄷ + 이 > [지]

The last Korean pronunciation rule of this article is an important one as it affects the pronunciation of some common Korean words. This rules goes that when the final consonants are either ㄷ or ㅌ and the following syllable is 이, the entire thing is pronounced as either [지] or [치] respectively.

A few examples:

같이 : [가치]

굳이 : [구지]

해돋이 : [해도지]

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Overview of the Korean pronunciation rule: ㄷ + 이 > [지]Try to slowly familiarize yourself with these rules first before moving on to the next set of rules. And, once you’ve mastered them your Korean speaking skill will have improved tremendously.

Polar BearAuthor

After meeting Panda, Polar Bear became enthralled with the Korean Language. Today he spends his days learning Korean, writing notes on what he has learned and sharing it with everyone else. He hopes he can spread his love for Korean and help others learn it.